Transportation Patterns of Adults With Travel-Limiting Disabilities in Rural and Urban America

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) Andrew Myers, The Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities (RTC:Rural), Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities, University of Montana; Catherine Ipsen, The Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities (RTC:Rural), Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities, University of Montana; Krys Standley, The Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities (RTC:Rural), Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities, University of Montana

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
Transportation Patterns of Adults With Travel-Limiting Disabilities in Rural and Urban America_Myers, Ipsen, Standley 2022.pdf application/pdf 235.5 KB 07/08/2024 08:22:AM
Transportation Patterns of Adults With Travel-Limiting Disabilities in Rural and Urban America_Summary and Secondary Data Sets.xlsx application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet 16.6 KB 07/08/2024 08:34:AM

Project Citation: 

Myers, Andrew , Ipsen, Catherine , and Standley, Krys . Transportation Patterns of Adults With Travel-Limiting Disabilities in Rural and Urban America. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2024-07-08. https://doi.org/10.3886/E207768V1

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary Lack of transportation is a significant barrier to community participation for many disabled adults. Living in a rural area introduces additional transportation barriers, such as having to travel long distances to access services or socialize, and limited public transit options. While the importance of transportation access is clear, the mix of different transportation options used by people with disabilities to participate in their communities is less understood, particularly among those who do not or cannot drive. This study used 2017 data from the National Household Travel Survey to explore transportation behaviors among disabled adults in rural and urban areas. Several geographic differences emerged among non-drivers. Rural non-drivers were less likely to take any trip, particularly for social activities, and reported using less public transportation or walking/rolling than urban non-drivers. Overall, disabled rural adults reported lower odds of giving up driving, even after controlling for socio-demographic and health characteristics.
Funding Sources:  View help for Funding Sources National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (90RTCP0002)

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms transportation; rural; disability; community participation; independent living
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage United States
Time Period(s):  View help for Time Period(s) 1/1/2017 – 12/30/2017
Collection Date(s):  View help for Collection Date(s) 1/1/2017 – 12/30/2017
Universe:  View help for Universe United States
Data Type(s):  View help for Data Type(s) census/enumeration data

Methodology

Response Rate:  View help for Response Rate NA
Sampling:  View help for Sampling The NHTS is a cross-sectional survey conducted every 5–7 years to collect information about the types of trips and transportation modes used by the American public. It uses an address-based sampling frame designed to produce an equal probability sample of households, excluding group housing and institutional settings (e.g., prisons, dormitories).

 22,716 (unweighted)/22,827,651 (weighted)
Collection Mode(s):  View help for Collection Mode(s) other
Scales:  View help for Scales NA
Weights:  View help for Weights Disability and Assistive Technology-  The NHTS asks respondents if they have “a condition or handicap that makes it difficult to travel outside of the home” (i.e., travel-limiting disability). For this paper, we consider an affirmative response to this question as someone with a disability. However, disability is not a static characteristic, and several analyses describe changes in disability status over relatively short time frames, between 4 months and 1 year, which may reflect temporary injuries. The NHTS also asks respondents if their condition has lasted for <6 months, more than 6 months, or their entire life. To focus on individuals with long-term or enduring disabilities, we excluded those with a disability lasting <6 months. The NHTS also asks if they use any of the following: cane, walker, white cane, seeing-eye dog, crutches, motorized scooter, motorized wheelchair, manual wheelchair, or other. Individuals who reported using any of these items were coded as using assistive devices.

 Non-driver status-  The NHTS asks all respondents how many vehicles they have in their household. We defined “non-driver” status as including all individuals who reported giving up driving as well as individuals who can drive but do not have a vehicle in their household.


Trips-  Respondents to the NHTS report every trip they take throughout their travel diary day. We used information about the main purpose for each trip to analyze the types of trips that individuals took. Each trip was assigned one purpose. “Social trips” includes recreational activities, exercise, visiting friends, and religious/community activities. “Independent Living trips” includes dropping off/picking someone up, errands, and buying meals. “Work trips” includes any trip for work or employment related activities among employed individuals. “Health trips” includes trips to the doctor’s office, dentist or therapy. We excluded return trips to home and trips between different transportation modes (i.e., walking to bus stop). Types of trips were informed by another NHTS-focused study; however, we classified trips for healthcare purposes as a distinct category.

 Transportation modes-  Trip records also include information about the type of transportation that was used. “Driver, personal vehicle” includes driving a car, SUV, van, truck or motorcycle. “Passenger, personal vehicle” includes riding in car, SUV, van, truck or motorcycle as a passenger. “Public transportation” includes public/commuter bus, paratransit/dial-a-ride, commuter rail, and subway/streetcar. “Taxi/rideshare” includes taxi, limo, and Uber/Lyft. “Walk/roll” includes walking and bicycle.
Unit(s) of Observation:  View help for Unit(s) of Observation Persons
Geographic Unit:  View help for Geographic Unit Rural/Urban counties and Regions

Related Publications

Download this project

Published Versions

V1 [2024-07-08]

Export Metadata

Dublin Core

DDI 2.5

Report a Problem

Found a serious problem with the data, such as disclosure risk or copyrighted content? Let us know.

This material is distributed exactly as it arrived from the data depositor. ICPSR has not checked or processed this material. Users should consult the investigator(s) if further information is desired.